The Junior Springboks have named an unchanged match 23 for Saturday evening’s much-anticipated World Rugby U20 Championship final against New Zealand in Rovigo, Italy.
The unchanged line-up means the bench will again feature a split of six forwards and two backs in what promises to be an epic battle between the two southern hemisphere rugby rivals.
Junior Springbok head coach Kevin Foote said the SA U20s have done well to reach the final and they are excited to face their greatest rivals with a settled side.
“This has been our settled combination for most of the year, and the team play with great synergy,” said Foote, who admitted it was yet again difficult to leave players out of the match-day squad.
“Given how well everyone has played, it was such a difficult task to leave anyone out. We are grateful for the absolute selflessness of the players not selected for Saturday’s final, and for how hard they are training to ensure the team is well prepared for New Zealand.
“We decided to pick six forwards on the bench yet again, as they made a difference in the semi-final against Argentina, and we also learned some valuable lessons when we faced New Zealand in the U20 Rugby Championship in South Africa a few months ago.”
Saturday’s final kicks off at 20.30.
HOW THE JUNIOR SPRINGBOKS WILL LINE UP
15 Gilermo Mentoe, 14 Cheswill Jooste, 13 Demitre Erasmus, 12 Albie Bester, 11 Jaco Williams, 10 Vusi Moyo, 9 Haashim Pead, 8 Wandile Mlaba, 7 Bathobele Hlekani, 6 Xola Nyali, 5 JJ Theron, 4 Riley Norton (c), 3 Herman Lubbe, 2 Siphosethu Mnebelele, 1 Simphiwe Ngobese.
Bench: 16 Jaundre Schoeman, 17 Oliver Reid, 18 Jean Erasmus, 19 Jaco Grobbelaar, 20 Matt Romao, 21 Stephanus Linde, 22 Ceano Everson, 23 Dominic Malgas.
What is your prediction for the final?
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